


The Reds

by considermewhelmed



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Red Robin (Comics)
Genre: And Jason is going to make him have one whether he likes it or not, Angst, Comic Book Violence, Family, Found Family, Hurt/Comfort, It'll mostly focus on the brother part tho, Jason Todd is Red Hood, Jason Todd is a good brother, Not Canon Compliant, Roy goes back to being Red Arrow because he wants to be included, Tim Drake Needs a Break, Tim Drake Needs a Hug, Tim Drake Needs a Nap, Tim Drake is Red Robin, less on the hero part
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-12 22:28:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28767852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/considermewhelmed/pseuds/considermewhelmed
Summary: Tim has always felt a little under appreciated in the group, more so now that he's gone by Red Robin. Everything he does seems to be brushed off or ignored entirely. He starts crashing at Jason's place, just so he doesn't have to go home at night.Realizing that his little brother isn't exactly happy with the family at the moment, Jason invites Tim to join him and Roy for a relatively easy mission in Europe, meant to be completed within a week or so.But when has anything gone according to plan?
Relationships: Batfamily Members & Jason Todd, Batfamily Members & Tim Drake, Roy Harper & Jason Todd, Roy Harper/Jason Todd, Tim Drake & Jason Todd, Tim Drake & Roy Harper
Comments: 12
Kudos: 194





	1. Issue #1

Jason came out of his room at 3pm on a Tuesday afternoon to find a mess of red and black fabrics covering a lump on his couch. He recognized the lanky limbs almost immediately and relaxed, heading over, grabbing the blanket off the back of the armchair Roy usually favoured. 

He carefully disconnected the cape from Tim’s suit, thankful the idiot at least remembered to take off his utility belt before crashing on the couch. He slipped his boots off with just as much care so he didn’t wake up the teen, covering him with the blanket a moment later, setting the boots aside, folding the cape up neatly and setting it on the coffee table. 

He disappeared into his room and found a shirt and belt, before sneaking into Roy’s room to steal a pair of jeans. Tim would still need to pull the belt tight, but at least Roy’s were a little slimmer and wouldn’t feel so awkward. 

“Jaybird?” Roy groaned, rolling over to look at his best friend. 

“Hey sorry, Tim crashed on the couch.” He whispered. “He’s in his suit, he’s gonna need clothes to go back.”

Roy nodded and nestled into the covers. “Coffees in the cupboard.” He mumbled before promptly falling back asleep. 

Jason closed his door with a soft click and set the clothes down beside the cape. He made his way to the kitchen, getting everything set up for a fresh pot of coffee with some of the nice beans from Brazil he had there specifically for when Tim came over so all he had to do was press a button when he woke up and headed to the bathroom to shower. 

When he came out, towel around his shoulders, Tim was just waking up. 

“Hey Timbo,” Jason greeted. “Late night?” 

Tim shrugged and stood up slowly, stretching. “You’re couch sucks for sleeping.” 

“Yeah alright.” He rolled his eyes. “Well my deepest apologies, your highness, I wasn’t exactly expecting company.” 

Tim waved his hand dismissively. “I’ll be out of your hair in a minute. This was just closer than the manor.” 

“No rush, I left you clothes on the table. I’ll make coffee and breakfast while you change. Take a shower too, if you want. My stuff is the Old Spice, but I’m sure Roy wouldn’t mind you using his stuff either.” Jason shrugged. 

Tim seemed surprised but didn’t say anything, just nodded awkwardly and grabbed the clothing, heading into the bathroom to change and shower. 

Jason tossed his towel onto the back of the couch and got started. 

Tim was drowning a little less than Jason expected, but the clothes were still ultra baggy. His hair was just long enough to tie back into a ponytail He flipped the omelette as Tim helped himself to the fresh pot of coffee. 

“You should bring some clothes over if you’re going to keep crashing here,” Jason told him, putting cheese in the middle and folding it. 

“This is only the like, third time I’ve done it,” Tim rolled his eyes. “I’m sorry lending me clothes is such a big inconvenience.” He muttered, sipping his coffee. 

Jason put the lid on the pan so the cheese would melt quicker and turned to look at Tim confused. “It’s not inconvenient for me, or Roy, but it’d probably be more comfortable for your own sake if you had clothes that would actually fit you, and not rolling Roy’s jeans up a million times, or my shirt sleeves.” He raised his eyebrow.

“Whatever,” Tim grunted. “I’ll be out of here after this, and I promise I won’t crash here again.” 

Jason removed the pan from heat, slamming it down a little too hard and whirled on Tim. “Look kid, you’re the one that showed up, uninvited, and crashed on the couch. I made you coffee and breakfast, gave you clothes and not  _ once  _ did I fucking complain. I don’t care as long as you reset the security system before you crash, which you _ always  _ do _.  _ I don’t know who pissed in your fucking cornflakes, but if you’re going to sit here and antagonize me _ in my own home unprovoked, _ you can get the fuck out, and leave the coffee behind.” 

Tim was quiet, staring down into his mug. There was a beat of silence before he sighed, and it was like he aged ten years right before Jason’s eyes. “I’m sorry.” He said softly. 

Jason sighed, leaning against the counter. “What’s really going on Tim?” He asked. 

Tim shrugged. “Nothing, just haven’t gotten enough sleep, that’s all.” 

The answer was bullshit, but Tim never pushed Jason to talk about things he didn’t want to, so it was only fair he returned the favour. He turned and took the omelette out, putting it on a plate and handing it over to Tim with a fork. “Sit, eat. Whenever you’re ready to go, me or Roy’ll drive you home. But I’ve got nothing to do today, and Roy’s going to his base to work on some new arrow ideas, so you’re welcome to stay here until patrol if you want.” 

“I should probably get back to the Cave, at least,” Tim sighed and sat at the little table. “Babs will have my head if I don’t get back so she can fix my comm.” 

“I can fix it,” Roy offered, yawning as he came into the kitchen, reaching for the coffee pot. 

“That’s Tim’s,” Jason chidded. 

Roy scowled at Jason but moved away, immediately starting on a Nespresso coffee instead. “You fixing me an omelette too?” He peered over Jason’s shoulder as the coffee brewed. 

Jason rolled his eyes and nudged Roy away, who shrugged and got his coffee, plopping down across from Tim. “So, whatcha say Timbo? I could fix your comm.” 

“So could I,” He reminded Roy. “But you know Babs, she’s really particular. And it’s not a mechanical issue, it’s a connection issue.” 

Roy shrugged and leaned back in his chair. Jason set to work on his own omelette as Tim grabbed his second cup of coffee. The rest of the morning was quiet except for the radio Jason had turned on, the reports of their own night activities and music flowing together peacefully. 

It wasn’t long before Roy was dropping Tim off at the Manor on his way to the base he was using for his inventions, since Jason wouldn’t let him do it in the apartment after he set the shower curtain on fire last time. 

Jason glanced at the couch and thought about it for a moment before he was grabbing his bike keys and heading out himself. 


	2. Issue #2

And so it continued. Tim would more often than not, crash at Jason and Roy’s place after patrol, and they’ve come to start leaving a change of clothes out for him. He always returned the clothes he borrowed (except one Gotham Knights sweater he stole from Jason, and refused to give it back), and Jason took to presetting the coffee every night. 

He only stayed for breakfast about half of the time. Other times, the only reason Jason ever knew the kid had been there was a dirty mug in the sink and maybe a plate. 

Jason didn’t associate with the family most of the time, the difference of ideals and methods didn’t lend itself well to conversation, but he was starting to worry about Tim. He meant when he said he really didn’t mind if Tim was crashing in his place. Roy liked having someone around who could understand him when he started talking tech, and Jason liked having him around just because he enjoyed the company in the kitchen. 

But it was happening more and more and Jason wasn’t sure how to approach the subject. Any time he tried, no matter how subtle, Tim always shut down, and didn’t come back for a couple of days, as if that proved that everything was better now. 

But Jason could tell that something was bothering Tim. When he brought it up with Roy, his friend merely shrugged and reminded him that Tim had always been a little high strung- that’s why ran off to Europe to find out about Bruce, why he upped the security in the Batcave, and created so many backup plans. 

It’s why he became Robin, and consequently Red Robin, to begin with. 

Jason made a decision then. 

He sat on the couch, waiting for Tim. 

Tim stumbled through the window at two in the morning and nearly hurled himself back out the window when he saw Jason waiting for him. 

“Uh,” He looked around, taking his mask off slowly. 

“Me and Roy are heading off on a mission in Europe,” Jason told him. “We leave tomorrow afternoon.” 

“Oh,” If it were anyone else, they wouldn’t notice the way Tim’s posture dropped just a little. “I understand.” 

“I want you on the team.” 

Tim’s head shot up and he stared at Jason. “What?” 

Clearly he didn't understand as much as he thought he did.

“I want you on the team,” He repeated. “You’re a skilled fighter, and you’re faster and more agile than me and Roy, we could really use you on the team.” He explained. “Besides that, I’m good at strategy if I have time to plan it out, and Roy’s great with big and elaborate, borderline crazy plans that nearly get him or me or both of us killed most of the time, but you’re an insanely smart strategist who can think of a plan on the fly, and a better detective than either of us,” Jason continued. “So if you want to come with us, we’d love to have you.” 

Tim blinked a couple of times. “I don’t know Jason, I have responsibilities here…” 

“If it’s the company, I’m sure they can survive without you for a week. If it’s Gotham, there’s more than enough masks here to cover for you while we’re gone.” Jason reasoned. “There’s no pressure, really, I just wanted to put the offer out there.” 

Tim nodded slowly as Jason stood up. “If you want to go, tomorrow I can swing you by the manor to grab some things. If not, I’ll leave the key with you and you can crash here whenever, and actually use the front door.”

Tim’s eyes widened. “You’d leave me with the apartment?” 

Jason shrugged. “Sure, the systems go haywire if we’re gone for too long, it's a failsafe Roy built into the program, but it’s still a pain in the ass to deal with when we get home.” 

Tim nodded again. “I’ll think about it.” He told him. 

Jason yawned and stretched. “Alright, get some sleep,” 

Tim mirrored his yawn and gave a thumbs up, getting out of as much of his uniform as he could manage and collapsed on the couch as he always did. 

-

In the morning, Tim changed into some of the clothes he brought the last time he crashed there and shoved his uniform into his bag, nodding to Jason who was leaning against the wall and spinning his keys around his finger. 

“Alright kid, let’s hit the road.” He said, pushing himself off the wall. “Roy, I’m taking Timmy home,” He shouted to his friend. 

“Alright! Meet you at the airport!” Roy yelled back through the shower. 

Jason motioned for Tim to follow him. Tim complied, locking the door behind him with the shiny new key Jason had given him and following his brother down to the sleek black car he wasn’t convinced was obtained in any legal fashion. 

“Hey, Jay, can I ask you something?” Tim asked as he opened the car door. 

“Sure,” Jason shrugged, opening his own car door. “What’s up?” He slid into the driver's seat. 

Tim slid into the passenger's seat and stayed quiet for a moment. Jason pulled out of the garage and glanced at Tim, raising his eyebrow. “Hey, Timbo? You gonna ask me or…?” 

“Why are you being so nice to me?” Tim blurted. 

Jason fell quiet as they raced through the city streets, thinking about how to answer. “What’s wrong with me being nice to you?” He asked instead, admittedly a little confused. 

Tim’s hand reached up to his neck absentmindedly, a nervous habit he picked up, and ran his fingers over the familiar scar from the time Jason had slit his throat. Jason had apologized maybe a hundred times already, and theoretically Tim understood him too, even back then. He was angry at Bruce and Tim had been a convenient outlet. 

Jason glanced at him when he didn’t answer and tensed when he saw what Tim was doing. He looked back at the road, guilt gnawing at his stomach. “Oh. Right.” He mumbled. 

Tim looked at him with wide eyes. “No, it’s not- sorry, that’s not- I wasn’t-” 

“It’s okay Tim,” Jason said gently. “You _should_ hate me for that.” 

“I don’t,” Tim insisted. “I just… wanted to know why you’re wasting your time on me.” 

“You’re the one who crashed at my place.” Jason scoffed, his walls slowly building back up. 

“Yeah but you didn’t have to make me coffee, or breakfast, or drive me home or-” 

“Sure I did,” He furrowed his eyebrows. “What? Did you think I was going to make you walk or something? And you’re a bitch without your coffee.” 

Tim knew realistically that Jason didn’t have to do any of these things, he could’ve even kicked him out the moment he found out Tim had been sleeping on his couch. 

But he didn’t. 

Tim took a deep breath.

“What kind of mission are we talking about, anyways?” Tim asked, trying to seem casual. 

“It’s in Europe. Three guess, and the first two don’t count.” Jason’s face hardened, and his grip tightened on the wheel. 

Tim had always found Jason fascinating, even when he was a Robin, and how his personality had been so obviously different from Dick’s, but now, after getting to know him, the switch in personality with one sentence was even more drastic. Jason was scary when he got serious or angry about the work. If Tim didn’t see it with his own eyes, he could’ve swore this wasn’t the same guy who made him breakfast in the mornings with the Oldies playing on the radio. 

“Ra’s.” Tim spat the name out coldly. “I’m in.” 

Jason glanced at him. “Alright then, pack what you need, but not too much. From personal experience, the less you have the better.” 

“The easier it is to replace when whatever vehicle or hotel room we have inevitably blows up you mean.” Tim scoffed. 

And just like that, Jason’s hard exterior chipped away, and a small smile broke through. “See? You’re already getting the hang of this.” He said, turning onto the driveway leading to Wayne Manor. 


End file.
